using social media to expand the classroom community
Posts tagged with conference
by derrickwillard on January 29, 2011 at 9:42 am · Filed under professional development and tagged: conference, Web 2.0
As I have written before, the tech is such that you can now “attend” (not just watch) professional development conferences online. If you are new to all this stuff and your district/school has yet to provide your the training in how to apply Web 2.0 tools in your teaching, consider checking out the Educon 2.3 conference going this weekend (Jan. 28-30, 2011). Go to the link below, create an account and join in on some great conversations about innovation in education!
Educon 2.3 homepage
by derrickwillard on March 12, 2010 at 10:19 pm · Filed under PLN, professional development and tagged: conference, PLN, the journey, why
So, I’m back home after two very stimulating days at the NCAIS Innovate Conference at Cary Academy. Man, my mind is still on fire and I cannot sleep. I’m sitting here trying to let the flames die down a bit, so I can sleep by the coals. I’ve heard so many teachers who attend conferences like these struggle to process and reflect, but the only solution is time.
I think one thing I know for sure is that I met some neat folks–progressive educators who push themselves to innovate in order to better engage their students. For example I met arvind s. grover, the Director of Educational Technology at The Hewitt School in New York City. arvind (yes, he spells his name in lower case), was a part of the keynote panel and helps host a nifty online talk show called EdTechTalk 21st Century Learning. I also met Meredith Stewart, a 6th Gr LA & History Teacher at Cary Academy (and another panel member). Check out her insights on teaching and technology at her blog. I could go on and on. The point is, I found some really neat folks to add to my Personal Learning Network (PLN).
Why do I have a PLN? Why should you? A personal learning network allows a teacher to efficiently gather knowledge to improve his or her craft. I think Daniel Tobin explains it best:
How can your learning network help you?
By helping you to sift through all the data to identify the information that will be most useful to you.
By helping you to identify learning resources and opportunities.
By coaching you and answering your questions as you try to apply your learning to your work.
By sharing their wisdom with you through dialogue.
Building a personal learning network is requires that you not only seek to learn from others, but also that you also help others in the network learn. Even when you are a novice in a field of learning, you can still make contributions. Did you read an article that might be of interest to others? Then distribute it to other in your network with a short note that you thought they might find it interesting. Did you hear of a conference on the subject? Let others know about the program and speakers and, if you attend, circulate your notes and papers you collect to other network members.
How do you build a solid PLN? Well, here is a great blog post on 8 Steps of PLN Development by Liz B. Davis. Me, I started by subscribing to blogs and Twitter feeds of folks I learned are opinion leaders in the field. So, if you haven’t started building your PLN yet, now is the time!
by derrickwillard on March 11, 2010 at 1:12 pm · Filed under professional development, twitter and tagged: conference, twitter
I’m at the NCAIS Innovate Conference. Join us live, for the kickoff from 1-2pm EST at: http://www.livestream.com/raventechreveals
Discussion topic: Rethinking Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age
Also, follow along on Twitter with this hashtag: #ncinnov8
Tonight from 5:45-7:30, check out the live streaming of “ignite” sessions at the same livestream link above!
by derrickwillard on March 1, 2010 at 3:54 pm · Filed under professional development, social media, twitter and tagged: conference, teachers, twitter
So, I’m gearing up for the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools annual “tech”conference next week. The conference organizers have wisely changed the name to “NCAIS Innovate,” as the focus should be on the teaching and not the tech. The conference title is “Igniting Innovation: Sparking Conversation about Learning in the Digital Age.” The conference will be hosted by Cary Academy on March 11th-12th (next week). I’ll be making two presentations on how I’ve incorporated social media into my science teaching and how social media can pull quiet girls into discussions.
If you can’t be there in person, you can experience part of the conference online. The education-themed internet radio show, EdTechTalk 21st Century Learning, will be broadcasting live from 1-2pm EST. I’m sure there will also be other sessions streamed live and probably lots of Twitter chatter that can be viewed via a hashtag.
Is it worth it to tag along to conferences like these online? I think so, if you have the time and cannot make it there in person. I recently tried to follow happenings at an amazing conference know as Educon 2.2. I could not physically get to Philly for the Conference, but decided to follow the conversations on Twitter (#educon hashtag-see bottom image), through streaming video sites like Vokle (see image below),
Panel Discussion on Vokle (Click to Enlarge)
and through online classroom/presentation spaces like Elluminate (see image below).
Elluminate & Twitter feed (Click to Enlarge)
This is great professional development as you don’t have to be just a voyeur–you can participate too! Check out the conference blog-hope to see you there or online.
